Earning It

Students helping out as part of
their community service training

Should you feed the lazy?

Now we command you, beloved, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, to keep away from believers who are living in idleness and not according to the tradition that they received from us. For you yourselves know how you ought to imitate us; we were not idle when we were with you, and we did not eat anyone's bread without paying for it; but with toil and labor we worked night and day, so that we might not burden any of you. This was not because we do not have that right, but in order to give you an example to imitate. For even when we were with you, we gave you this command: Anyone unwilling to work should not eat. For we hear that some of you are living in idleness, mere busybodies, not doing any work. Now such persons we command and exhort in the Lord Jesus Christ to do their work quietly and to earn their own living. Brothers and sisters, do not be weary in doing what is right. - 2 Thessalonians 3:6-13

Today's reading is not directed at the poor, but at the believers who help the poor and care for the needy.

But what about those who come seeking help?  Shouldn't they be willing to work as well?

What do you think of this scenario?

A man who comes to Caritas every day for lunch started volunteering to clean up after lunch.  The first reaction was positive.  He had been getting something for free and now wants to pay back a little toward it.  That's a good thing.

But this man started asking for special favors, like gift cards for the work he did. 

The staff took offense at that.  Why does it seem ok to work because you receive something for free, but not ok if you volunteer and then want something extra?

The irony is, we do give gift cards and other items we get donated to people who help out as a way of appreciating their willingness to help, but they don't ask for them.

You would think it a good thing to have people who are desperate for help be willing to work for their food, so why does it bother us when they ask for favors after volunteering to help?

If we want to encourage people to help themselves out of poverty, I would think we would reward their efforts to seek payment for the work they do.  It is only fair, and it is the behavior that should be encouraged, right?

So, maybe we need to change our model a bit.

Maybe we should be putting people to work so they can earn their food.

Radical?

The problem is, how do we do that?

More to come...